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Christie Smith gets reaction from Oakland to news that the A's may be forced to play at AT&T Park as early as next season. (Published Monday, Nov. 4, 2013)

The idea of seeing the Oakland A's play a home game on the banks of McCovey Cove may seem like a fantasy, but according to the Chronicle's Matier and Ross, it's something that could happen in reality in a matter of months.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle. Major League Baseball is offering to help the Oakland Athletics play at AT&T Park in San Francisco if the team cannot agree with Coliseum officials on a short-term lease.

If the A's play at AT&T Park, it would be for the next two years, and would most certainly pave the way for the A's to move out of the Bay Area.

Jon Streeter, the San Francisco attorney representing the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Authority in the stadium lease negotiations, was given the AT&T ultimatum by MLB in a closed-door meeting, according to the paper.

MLB is also asking the Coliseum to give the A's a short, two-year deal, so the team could have more flexibility to move to San Jose--or elsewhere, the Chronicle said.

For the A's to move across the bay, the San Francisco Giants would have to approve sharing AT&T Park, which is owned by the Giants. The benefit to the Giants would be a nice, fat rent check, and the probability that the team would move out of the area which would give the Giants sole ownership of one of the biggest markets in the country.

Their move would have many details to work out, including the problem that comes when you look at the schedule and see the Giants and the A's have home games on the same day nine times in 2014.

A’s PR director Bob Rose released a statement from managing partner Lew Wolff on Monday: “We intend to extend our lease in Oakland and look forward to another great season." Whether those intentions will be fulfilled is another question.

Giants President Larry Baer declined to comment on the issue to the paper.